Monday, July 03, 2006

I was flipping around on the tube the other night and came across a real gem. Maryland Public Television was rebroadcasting a documentary created by Nashville Public Television called "THE APPALACHIANS". My thumb immediately and instinctively went numb, unable to click any further.

The three hour series offers a really nice overview of the Appalachian region and its history from Native American to modern times. It takes you through Appalachian geography, culture, music, religion, economics, and activism; all of which are presented in a historical context with a backdrop of mountains and music which makes it move along nicely. It also features interviews with Loretta Lynn, Rosanne and an elderly Johnny Cash, Marty Stuart, and Ricky Skaggs.

For anyone with an interest in Appalachia, I suggest this documentary. It is on DVD with an accompanying book and CD available. But being just over a year old, it will more than likely be on your local PBS station in the near future.

No comments:

This blog is about our Appalachia - the real one, not the Hollywood-stereotype nor the third-world nation-esque stereotype being sold by do-gooders, or even the neo-Romantic sylvan stereotype that Rousseau would probably buy into.

It should be interesting.

Horn-Tootin'

~ The BrickRanch.com - My latest most favorite blog is The Hillbilly Savants. It’s an intelligent look at an interesting and sometimes misunderstood culture. If you have Appalachian blood in you, then you know what I’m talking about. If you have any preconceived notions about Appalachians then this may give you a much needed attitude adjustment. If you have no idea at all what I’m talking about but have a curious mind, check it out. ~ Charlestonian Blog - Hillbilly Savants is one of those blogs that makes you want to just want to pull up the rockin' chair and put your feet next to the fire. Do check it out, and take your time. Look over the archives. Lots of great photos and articles from a couple dozen or so contributors. ~ Cup of Joe Powell - I've recently found another fascinating place to read about all things Appalachian. Hillbilly Savants has a staggering amount of information, links to bajillions of newspaper, television and radio sites, bloggers from across the South, colleges, research and policy groups, a hefty list of contributors and much, much more. Exhaustive work is evident here. The topics cover culture and politics and tall tales of the region, history, science - you name it. I was more than honored to find they linked to this humble but lovable blog, too. ~ Jape's Japes - These guys rock...a group of bloggers writing substantial insights into this region we now call home. If only I could write like this. ~ Knoxville Trivia Blog - Hillbilly Savants is one of the best blogs on the entire web. ~ Maysville Kentucky Blog - Stereotypes are great in the purpose that they serve. They give us a way of packaging up all the things we know nothing about so that we can reduce them down to a single image, and then neatly dismiss them. I don't feel the need to hang out with Eskimos because I'm reasonably sure that I don't want to live in an igloo or eat frozen fish, that sort of thing. The Hillbilly Savant reminds those who take notice -- and I encourage everyone to take notice -- that people in Appalachia are not so neatly defined. We might be hillbillies in some ways, but we can still add 2 + 2. If we can't, we sure as hell know how to work a calculator : ) Anywho... there's countless reasons to proudly shout out from the Appalachian region to the rest of the world, and that's what the Hillbilly Savant reminds us. Plus they link off to a boat load of other regional blogs, so there's definitely something for everyone. ~ openswitch - Odds are you’ve never been to the Appalachia region of the U.S. I, however, have spent the past 10 years of my life living withing driving distance of it, and have spent a lot of time in some of the small towns that have cropped out of this old mountain range. Today’s blog . . . is Hillbilly Savants. As the name implies, this blog is all about Appalachia, and it’s well written to boot. It’s a multi-author blog so far as I can tell, and it seems to be updated fairly regularly. They blog about helping people, interesting history and a lot of other great stuff. The history, the people and the culture behind this region of the U.S. is very interesting to me and I think that often times it’s misrepresented as being extremely backwards. I think this blog does a great job of highlighting the fact that the stereotypical hillbilly isn’t so stereotypical. ~ Rednecromancer - . . . Hillbilly Savants is as fine of an Appalachian magazine as any in print. The fact that so many individuals contribute to this work and yet the quality is consistent has to be a statistically anomaly. Hillbilly Savants specializes in points of interest mostly from eastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia but is indeed a regional eZine. The photographs are worth a weekly visit. One of the grand services offered by Hillbilly Savants is an exhaustive list of Appalachian area media outlets, art establishments, educational institutions, various web pages for federal, state and local government and of course web pages of other Appalachian interest. ~ ruminations from the distant hills- Hillbilly Savants is everything a blog should be. That why you'll find it on the sidebar. Click it. Often. So imagine my surprise when RUMINATIONS was included in Hillbilly Savants' recent tribute to BLOGS OF NOTE. Keep your ol' Oscars and your Pulitzers and your what-have-yous. I'm happy with a tip of the hat from HS. ~ Wandering Hillbilly - time is short, but i wonted to let ye know bout a new blog a commmenter name of april tole me bout, witch tiz a blog name of Hillbilly Savants. i aint red near a nuff of it yet, but tiz chuck full of good stuff frum whut i kin see, speshly fer folks frum appalachia.